US President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that he is nearing a decision on launching a massive military attack against Iran, larger than any previous strikes during the ongoing conflict. The remarks follow escalating regional tensions and Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
The administration faces mounting pressure as military operations strain inventories of precision munitions and air-defense interceptors. Speaking in an interview with the Axios news site, President Trump said he is considering a major escalation while acknowledging the severe economic and geopolitical ripple effects already sweeping global energy markets. Trump made his remarks on Thursday as oil prices once again surged past the symbolic $100 for a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, and amid indications the price could go higher still.
Escalating Hostilities and Strained Interceptor Stockpiles
The rapid pace at which the U.S. is expending some of its most advanced air-defense interceptors and precision-guided weapons in the Middle East is a point of great tension inside the Trump administration as President Trump’s war with Iran ratchets up again, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials familiar with internal assessments. And it’s raising broader concerns about America’s readiness for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific. The dwindling stockpiles of defensive interceptors and long-range missiles have become a pressure point for top military and civilian leaders who are weighing the demands of the war with Iran against maintaining readiness to deter other adversaries, including China. U.S. officials, who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the topic, said the U.S. cannot sustain the rate at which it expended precision munitions early in the campaign against Iran. The defense industrial base is not equipped to produce missiles rapidly enough to replenish munitions that have been fired or transferred.
Donald Trump has said he is close to deciding whether to launch a massive attack
against Iran, on a scale larger than strikes already witnessed during the months-long conflict with Tehran. Speaking to the Axios news site, the US president said: I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.
Troop Surges, Diplomatic Strain, and Regional Alarm
The U.S. is surging forces, medics and weaponry to the Middle East to give President Trump more muscular military options as he considers expanding the conflict against Iran, according to people familiar with the matter. In the past week, special-operations forces have deployed to the region from their U.S. bases, according to flight-tracking data and U.S. officials. Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft at bases in the U.S. and U.K. are on high alert to ramp up operations, according to one of the officials. Additionally, more than 150 medics have arrived at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany in recent days, another official said. The hospital is the primary location for treating troops injured in combat in the Middle East. The preparations are the latest indication that Trump is considering escalating the conflict after three American soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan over the weekend. A fourth servicemember was killed in Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.
Trump’s comments followed the earlier threat of major military punishment
against Iran and the Houthis, after the Iran-backed Yemeni militia’s attacks on two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea. Underlining the sense of a region increasingly approaching an abyss, the United Nations secretary general António Guterres told the security council about the escalating dangers.
Economic Fallout and the Threshold of a New Decision
As Brent crude oil prices surged past the symbolic $100 per barrel mark, President Trump acknowledged that such a decision would have consequences but said he had not yet made a final determination. Israel would join in two minutes if I ask them to
, he added, before saying: We don’t need anybody.
Hours later the U.S. carried out a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran lasting more than two hours. Iranian state media reported explosions along the strait of Hormuz in Qeshm and Bandar Abbas, as well as to the north-west of the country and in Tehran. Trump also stated that the Iranians want to negotiate
but are not ready to make a deal at the moment, adding: They haven't received enough pain yet.
Two US officials confirmed no call has been made and no new orders have been given to the military.
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